Treasures Among Fall Offerings

September 5, 1986|By DAVE KEHR, Chicago Tribune

Movie companies don`t like the fall. For them, it`s just a lull that comes after the highly profitable summer season and before the boom business of Christmas. Attendance plummets during the fall months, as people return to their jobs, schools and TV sets. A hit film released at this time of the year can expect, at most, $40 million in rentals, as opposed to the $100 million figures possible during the rest of the year.

But for the dedicated moviegoer, fall brings the sweetest days of the calendar. The movie companies may be reluctant to release their most commercial titles in this low-stakes market, but they do take advantage of the relative lack of pressure to bring out their more difficult, adventurous films. Oscar-winners are traditionally launched during this time of the year, as are films that, for one reason or another, don`t fit snugly into the usual genre categories. It`s a time for originality, rather than repetition -- for Martin Scorsese rather than Sylvester Stallone.

The list that follows represents most, but not every film we`ll be seeing between now and Thanksgiving -- fall is unpredictable, too, and a lot of interesting projects pop up at the last minute. The list is divided into two sections: The big-budget, big-star movies are followed by some potential sleepers chosen from among the more modest productions.

THE BIG GUNS

The Name of the Rose: Sean Connery and F. Murray Abraham star in an adaptation of Umberto Eco`s best seller about a murder in a medieval monastery. Jean-Jacques Annaud (Quest for Fire) directed.

That`s Life: Jack Lemmon and Julie Andrews in a semi-autobiographical account of a midlife crisis from director Blake Edwards.

`night, Mother: A clear bid for Oscar recognition, with Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft in an adaptation of Marsha Norman`s play about a young woman who wants to commit suicide. Directed by Tom Moore.

Peggy Sue Got Married: Francis Ford Coppola`s best film since The Godfather, Part II is a comedy with an appealing touch of melancholy. Kathleen Turner is a 40-year-old who wakes up to find herself back in high school.

Tai-Pan: Bryan Brown in an epic vision of the founding of Hong Kong, directed by Daryl Duke from James Clavell`s novel.

Tough Guys: Old colleagues Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas, reunited as a pair of bank robbers getting out of jail after a 25-year stretch. Jeff Kanew (Revenge of the Nerds) directed.

Jumpin` Jack Flash: Whoopi Goldberg`s dull life as a secretary picks up when a CIA agent starts passing messages through her computer terminal. Penny Marshall, of TV`s Laverne and Shirley, makes her debut as a director.

The Color of Money: Martin Scorsese`s sequel to The Hustler stars Paul Newman as a retired pool shark who sees his younger self in up-and-coming hustler Tom Cruise.

Soul Man: From the producer of Risky Business, the story of a middle-class white kid (C. Thomas Howell) who poses as a black to get into Harvard on a minority scholarship. The director is Steve Miner (House).

No Mercy: Chicago cop Richard Gere travels to Louisiana`s bayou country to track down the crime lord who killed his partner. With Kim Basinger; Richard Pearce directed.

Children of a Lesser God: Academy Award-winner William Hurt as a man who falls in love with a deaf and dumb woman (Marlee Maitlin). Ranla Haims directs.

52 Pick-Up: John Frankenheimer`s film, based on an Elmore Leonard novel, follows Roy Scheider as a blackmail victim looking for revenge. With Ann- Margret.

The Mission: Reformed mercenary Robert DeNiro joins the Jesuits (led by Jeremy Irons) to fight the Spanish government in the South America of the 1750s. The version shown this spring at the Cannes Film Festival needed work; supposedly, director Roland Joffe (The Killing Fields) has since tightened it up.

Streets of Gold: Domineering daddy Klaus Maria Brandauer tries to make his son into a championship boxer. Directed by Joe Roth.

An American Tail: Producer Steven Spielberg raids the Disney cartoon tradition with the animated story of an immigrant mouse. Former Disney animator Don Bluth (The Secret of NIMH) directed.

THE SLEEPERS, MAYBE

Where the River Runs Black: A boy is befriended by a dolphin in a children`s adventure filmed in Brazil by Christopher Cain (That Was Then, This Is Now).

Blue Velvet: Droll, disturbing and strikingly original, this sexual fantasy by David Lynch (Eraserhead) stars Kyle MacLachlan as a college boy who finds some mighty strange doings when he returns to his hometown.

The Men`s Club: Leonard Michael`s novel about a boys` night out that becomes an exploration of men`s attitudes toward women, directed by Peter Medak (The Ruling Class) and featuring a star-heavy cast that includes Roy Scheider, Treat Williams, Frank Langella, Harvey Keitel and Stockard Channing.